HOUSTON – It had the makings of a disaster – a very familiar one – but UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar stormed back and scored an elusive victory over Gray Maynard at Saturday’s UFC 136 event.

Edgar, who fought to a split draw with Maynard back in January, again found himself in a 10-8 hole after one round. But the champ stormed back to win the next two rounds before earning a fourth-round TKO victory.

The title fight headlined Saturday’s UFC 136 event, which took place at Houston’s Toyota Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view after prelims on Spike TV and Facebook.

Edgar, of course, had just two blemishes on his career: a loss and a draw. Both came to Maynard, and in the long-awaited trilogy fight, Edgar hopes to claim his first victory over the No. 1 contender.

Edgar failed on his first takedown attempt, and Maynard then blasted him with an uppercut that staggered the champ. Follow-up punches continued hitting Edgar, who tried to fight through the daze. A stiff right bought him some time, but a left clipped him, and Edgar’s legs became even wobblier. Edgar still wouldn’t concede, but Maynard picked away with punches, kicks and a flying knee, which appeared to badly break the champ’s nose.

Like the January meeting, Edgar survived the first-round beating, but he quickly found himself down 10-8.

“Maybe I just wanted to make it exciting,” Edgar joked. “Who knows?”

Edgar composed himself for the second round, and he used an early stick-and-move game plan to help buy some time and shake the cobwebs. The strategy also allowed him to land some crisp strikes throughout the round, in which Maynard offered little in return.

Edgar again was the aggressor early in the third round. Maynard looked to close the distance, but the champ’s quick hands frequently landed. Two-punch combos proved especially effective, though Maynard simply shook off the blows. Still, on the MMAjunkie.com scorecard, it put the fight at 28-28 through three rounds.

As the fight again entered the championship rounds, Edgar sustained the momentum with effective combos, great footwork and quick head movement. He also mixed in jarring leg kicks. And when Maynard shot for a takedown, Edgar staggered him with a right uppercut and quickly followed with a barrage of punches that sent Maynard reeling. The flurry of blows mounted and brought about a TKO stoppage at the 3:54 mark of the round.

Although dropped by the blows and eventually falling face first into the mat, Maynard initially protested the stoppage, but to no avail.

“I saw him rock, and I just went in for the kill,” Edgar said.

Edgar (14-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) notched his second successful title defense with the victory and avenges the only loss of his career, which came three years ago to Maynard (10-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC), who suffers his first loss.

Aldo outpoints Florian, defends title

Kenny Florian proved a worthy competitor, but UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo outpointed the longtime lightweight and defended his title in the night’s co-headliner.

Florian, a former lightweight title challenger who decided to try his luck at featherweight, started strong but simply couldn’t hang with Aldo in later rounds.

Aldo blasted his opponent with a shot early in the first round. Florian then nearly secured a takedown, but Aldo spun out of it and put his back against the cage. A relentless Florian twice took the fight to the mat, but Aldo quickly was back up on each occasion and eventually broke free. Florian, though, wouldn’t let up on the pressure, and he used body punches to set up the clinch against the cage. Florian didn’t get another takedown, but he mixed in some solid knees and punches to win the round.

Florian couldn’t close the distance in the second, but he matched Aldo punch for punch and low kick with low kick. Aldo narrowly missed some power shots, but he scored with his jab before Florian ran out of time with a late-round takedown attempt. The round began a momentum shift in Aldo’s favor.

Aldo’s accuracy improved in the third, and he landed punches and kicks by darting in and out of range. His counter-shots also began to land more frequently. Damaging low kicks set up punches, and often having to fight off one leg, Florian couldn’t avoid the shots. Florian then attempted a takedown, but Aldo collapsed on top of him and worked from the top. Florian kept Aldo from getting the mount position, and he eventually got to his feet before round’s end.

In the fourth round, Florian tried to mix up his striking to keep Aldo guessing, but the champ began connecting more frequently. He also fended off takedown attempts and largely avoided any damage from the clinch. Florian pressed the action, but he struggled to land anything substantial.

Likely assuming he was down three rounds to one when entering the fifth, Florian picked up the striking frequency. But he slipped on a flying knee attempt, and Aldo took top position and easily moved into mount. Florian ultimately escaped and got to his feet. Florian closed the distance and worked for a takedown, and when just a half minute remained, he desperately looked for a knockout shot that never came.

It was a valiant effort for the challenger, but champ Aldo got the decision via 49-46 scores. (MMAjunkie.com also scored it 49-46 for the champ.)

“It played out great,” Aldo said. “He’s a very strategic fighter … but I had to go in there and impose my game.”

Including his WEC title reign, Aldo (20-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) now has made four successful title defenses, and he pushes his win streak to 13 fights.

Florian (15-6 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who’s fighting in his fourth weight class, failed to win a title for the third time, and future prospects for another opportunity now look especially bleak.

Dominant Sonnen submits Stann, calls out Silva

The only thing overshadowing Chael Sonnen’s victory were the comments he made after it.

After sitting out the past 14 months due to multiple suspensions and legal issues, the enigmatic middleweight finally got back in the cage and derailed the quickly rising Brian Stann with a second-round submission victory.

But his post-fight speech did nothing but preview what likely will be his next bout: a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Against Stann, Sonnen promised there would be no feeling-out process, and he immediately shot for a double-leg takedown. He had to work from the clinch for nearly two minutes before getting it, but he promptly landed in side control. As Stann tried to get to his feet, Sonnen took his back, secured his hooks, and then worked for a rear-naked choke from the standing position as Stann returned to his feet. He couldn’t get it, but he slammed Stann back to the mat and battered him with heavy ground and pound for the final minute of the round.

Sonnen again scored the double-leg takedown to open the second round. He then moved to full mount and delivered more punishment. Stann eventually pulled his opponent back into full guard before a premature standup allowed Stann to blast Sonnen with a right hand. Sonnen, though, quickly closed the distance, scooped up his opponent, dumped him again and landed in side control. Sonnen then secured an arm-triangle choke, switched sides and forced the tap-out at the 3:51 mark of the round.

Stann was simply overwhelmed and was clearly frustrated at the bout’s conclusion.

Everyone then hung on Sonnen’s first words. And he didn’t disappoint.

“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck,” said Sonnen, who dominated the champ for four rounds at UFC 117 before falling to a late-fight submission. “Super Bowl weekend, the biggest rematch in the history of the business. I’m calling you out Silva, but we’re upping the stakes.”

“I beat you, (and) you leave the division. You beat me, and I will leave the UFC forever.”

And with that, Sonnen left the cage.

Should he get the rematch, Sonnen (26-11-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC) will do so on the strength of a 4-1 run.

Stann, meanwhile, (11-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) snaps a three-fight win streak and suffers just his second loss in seven fights.

Phan gets redemption, beats Garcia in thriller

Their first meeting ended in one of the most controversial judging decisions of 2010. But the rematch awarded the rightful victor his long-awaited win.

After a controversial split-decision defeat to Garcia in December, Phan earned a unanimous and thrilling decision victory over his always-exciting opponent in the rematch.

Phan got the better of the stand-up and buckled Garcia on multiple occasions in the first round. Body shots also landed especially flush. Garcia landed some nice kicks to the body, but Phan’s balanced attack clearly won him the round.

Early in the second, Phan landed a solid combination that again buckled Garcia. As the round wore on, Garcia’s striking appeared to become more desperate, and a disciplined Phan made him pay with counter shots and especially effective hooks to the body.

By the third round, Garcia was clearly fatigued, frustrated and bleeding. But he came out winging haymakers while putting audible grunts behind them. The strategy allowed him to connect with some low kicks and punches to the body, and he dropped Phan with a left a few minutes into the round. Once Phan was back up, Garcia poured on the blows, but he soon punched himself out, and Phan was able to recover and find his legs. Phan then scored a takedown, but the ref called for a quick stand-up. Garcia, though, was too tired and wild to capitalize, and Phan avoided any finishing blows.

In the end, the judges awarded Phan the redeeming unanimous-decision victory via 29-28 scores. The exciting bout brought the Toyota Center crowd to its feet.

Phan (17-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) halted a 1-4 skid and saved his UFC career with the victory. Garcia (15-8-1 MMA, 2-4 UFC), who recently competed in the WEC, falls to 1-2 in his latest UFC stint.

Lauzon stuns Guillard with first-round submission

Fighting near his hometown and with a likely title shot waiting in the wings, Louisiana native Melvin Guillard couldn’t have entered the cage any happier. Less than a minute later, he couldn’t have left any more disappointed.

Facing fellow lightweight Joe Lauzon, Guillard darted in and out of range with an abundance of confidence. But perhaps a little too confident, he swarmed in and was countered with a quick left to the chin. Guillard clearly was staggered, and Lauzon quickly wrestled him to the mat, took his back, secured the rear-naked choke, rolled Guillard to his stomach, and forced the tap-out.

Lauzon, who entered the fight as an approximate 4-to-1 underdog, needed just 47 seconds to score the shocking upset.

Lauzon (21-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC) quietly picks up his third win in four fights and his fifth victory in seven bouts. All have come via stoppage.

The Latest

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?